Over the course of a college career – for some of them, five years – the players from the Carleton University women’s basketball team became besties.

It has always been about family. About each other. They cried together, laughed together, for a few years lost together and, finally, they won together — they won it all.

On Sunday, the Ravens closed off a spectacular undefeated season with a 69-48 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies in the U Sports championship game.

It’s been about much more than forging friendships for the team’s 13 players. They’ve shared heartache, along with happiness – all for one and one for all. It’s that whole united they stand, divided they fall thing. In this case, they became one. Selfless. They’ve always been a shoulder for each other to lean on – sisters.

Forward Catherine Traer became part of the family two years ago after four seasons with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees.

“I was really scared,” she said. “I came from Ottawa U and was raised to dislike the Ravens. So being friends with them was a scary thing. I was so happy they were so accepting. Everyone gets along.”

At this level of play, it can turn out differently. Sometimes there are egos to feed. Sometimes when you spend so much time together, there’s an uneasiness. Not here.

“There are no superstars on this team, we’re all just so humble and we all really care about each other,” said Traer. “It has made a difference. I’ve been on teams that weren’t as close and maybe didn’t do as well. The difference maker with this team is the chemistry on and off the court. Everyone cared about each other, doing it for the person on your right and the person on your left – not just for yourself.

“I was lucky to join a team that had already worked its butts off – they started at the bottom. They’ve worked so hard. Without the struggle they had, we wouldn’t be where we are today. I’m really happy and grateful they’ve accepted and welcomed me.”

Being in that team/family framework helped get guard Cynthia Dupont through the toughest of times – both her mom Nancy and grandmother Murielle died of lung cancer last year.

“I spend a lot of time with these girls,” said Dupont. “It was so important to have that bond. They kept me busy and helped me forget about it. They were so nice, this is like a second family to me.

“Obviously every one of us has been through certain things – we’re always there to help out, to make sure we’re all OK. We have each other’s backs. That’s important to us, it brings us together as family.”

It’s amazing what long hours on a basketball court can do for unity and transfer a talented group of individuals into a team in its truest sense.

“One through 13, they’re our best friends,” said centre Heather Lindsay. “We see them every single day. We spend more time with them than we do our own families. It really makes a difference to have good, quality people on the team.”

“We have a tight-knit group,” said Ravens coach Taffe Charles. “We have a lot of character on this team. They worked very hard. It’s a thrill to win this championship with this group of girls.”

When the team arrived at Ottawa International Airport shortly before 6 p.m. Monday, there were plenty of supporters to welcome them home. It was a long road to get to the championship. Long hours. Injuries. It’s never easy to build a championship team, so much goes into the journey — blood, sweat and tears and then some.

“Winning … this means the world to us,” said Dupont. “We’ve put so much work into this, we’ve made so many sacrifices along the way.”

Said Lindsay: “For five years, I’ve been saying to myself, ‘I’m going to do it, I’m going to win a championship.’ We were fortunate enough to have a great group of girls who are skilled in all aspects.”

“They trusted each other,” said Ravens coach Taffe Charles. “They had confidence that they could get it done. We didn’t talk a lot about national championships, we just focused on every game – we didn’t get too far ahead of ourselves.

And now, they stand tall as champions.

RAVENS HOPE TO INSPIRE OTHERS

It began with a tweet from Carleton Ravens centre Heather Lindsay.

“It was after our Capital Hoops game and we’d just tied a record for the most consecutive inter-conference wins – we were all pretty excited about it,” said Lindsay on Monday. “We opened up the paper and there was a whole page about the men’s team and the history of its games. There was nothing about us, not even a score.

“I don’t want my message to get lost in me looking for personal attention. It’s really important for women’s sports to get equal coverage. People care. People want that.”

On Sunday, the Ravens women’s basketball team carved out its own piece of history – with a 69-48 win over the Saskatchewan Huskies in the U Sports national championship game.

Getting their story out is inspirational to the next generation of female athletes. Support from the media helps that happen.

“We have tons of young teams that come out to our games,” said Ravens forward Catherine Traer. “Obviously we’re doing it for ourselves, but we’re also doing it because we want to inspire a generation that’s younger than us. There needs to be equal recognition between women’s and men’s sports. As our undefeated season was happening, we hoped to get just as much recognition as the men’s team was.

“I studied politics, I’m a big feminist – I really believe there should be more recognition. It should be an equal playing field.”

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